SAF Applauds Forestry Investments in House Appropriations Bill

July 7, 2022

The fiscal year (FY) 2023 bill from the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies includes increased investments in a wide variety of programs that support forestry research and management across public and private lands. SAF is particularly encouraged by the increased funding allocated to programs under USDA Forest Service's Forest and Rangeland Research. This bill passed the full Appropriations Committee at the end of June, and the full package of appropriations bills should come to the House floor this month. Numbers below are in comparison to current FY 2022 funding levels.
 
Key Investments

 Research & Development Programs = + $16 million

Forest Inventory and Analysis = + $15.5 million

  • Recognizes that additional resources are needed, but expects investments to go towards priorities such as:

    (1) standardizing FIA field protocols and analysis nationally to ensure credible and consistent data and analysis;
    (2) expanding investments in and integration of remote sensing and satellite technologies and programs with field data;
    (3) improving online tools that support real-world applications of the data;
    (4) assessing landscape-scale or regional-scale net carbon stocking; and
    (5) accelerating data collection on the base grid to a 5-year remeasurement cycle nationwide across all forest types, including all privately owned forests.

  • Includes an increase for the Timber Products Output Survey to ensure a sustainable timber supply for climate-friendly building materials.

    Joint Fire Science = + $500,000

    Funding to increase capacity and cover expenses = + $21.75 million 

    Other Notable Investments

    Landscape Scale Restoration = + $6.17 million

    Urban & Community Forestry = + $6 million

    Forest Stewardship = + $3.65 million

    Forest Health: Cooperative Lands = + $2.75 million

    Wood Innovation Grant Program = +$10 million

    Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovations Program = +$6 million

    Hazardous Fuels Grants: (1) up to $15 million to incentive use of biomass from National Forest System (NFS) lands; and (2) up to $20 million for hazardous fuels management contracts on NFS lands or for training/monitoring on non-NFS lands, if there is a benefit to NFS lands.

    SAF is also pleased to see that the Bureau of Land Management's Forest Ecosystem Health and Recovery Fund would be extended for another year. Given the increased pressures on our public lands from wildfire, insects, and disease, SAF will work with its partners to urge long-term or permanent authorization for this important fund. Public land managers—including BLM foresters—need proper resources to manage forests to reduce fuel loads, salvage damaged timber, and make forests more resilient to disturbances.

    For key programs not receiving proposed increases, SAF will work with partner organizations to raise the profile of those programs and the needs they serve within the forestry community—programs like National Forest System's Forest Products, Capital Improvement and Maintenance's Roads, and the Forest Products Laboratory.

    Click here to download and read SAF's FY 2023 House Appropriations Testimony.

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    SAF Contact:
    Danielle Watson, SAF Policy & Public Affairs Director, [email protected]